Astros Still View Their Championship Window As Open

The Houston Astros lost a devastating Game 7 against their Texas Rangers in the ALCS. They'll no longer be able to defend their World Series championship, but they still view their window to win more as open.

The Houston Astros will have to watch the rest of the MLB Playoffs from home knowing that they were one win away from getting back to the World Series.

After winning all three road games, it felt almost like a sure thing that the Astros would get one at home to put away the Texas Rangers.

But, that did not happen.

Their home struggles continued and they had to watch the Rangers' celebrate winning the AL Pennant on their own field.

It was a strange year overall when looking back on Houston's season.

They got off to a slow start, were bad at home, dominated on the road and their pitching was a shell of itself.

Still, they were one win away from reaching the World Series.

That's why many of the players still view their championship window as open heading into 2024.

"That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back here ... I think moving forward, there’s still a good window available," Justin Verlander said.

He was the Astros' big trade deadline acquisition after he departed in the offseason to join the New York Mets.

One player who has spent his entire career with the Astros knows how they have rebounded from losses in the past.

"We got outplayed, and we'll learn from the mistakes this offseason. We'll get after it and be ready to get back to competing," Alex Bregman said.

The reality is, for as dominant as Houston has been in recent years, they've also lost big games.

That's what happens in baseball. Only one team wins at the end of the year.

When the Astros lost the ALCS in 2018, they won it the next year. When they lost the ALCS in 2020, they won it in 2021.

When they lost the World Series in 2021, they became champions in 2022.

That's what Houston has done.

They rebound from their defeats and more often than not, deliver the next season.